Get Ready for Brexit: the advice for Brits

A major public information campaign urging British citizens to “Get Ready for Brexit” ahead of the 31 October deadline has been launched by the Government.

According to Sky News, the £100m project is the “largest ever” of its kind in the UK, with adverts due to appear on TV, radio, social media and billboards, and a new dedicated portal on the official government website.

Michael Gove, who is in charge of no-deal plans, says the new campaign will encourage “shared responsibility” for preparing to leave the EU and is a response to research which shows that “only 50% of the population think it’s likely the UK will leave the EU on 31 October”.

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“The campaign will tackle this head on by setting out what all members of the public and business owners might need to do, if anything, to get ready to leave the EU on 31 October,” Gove adds in an online statement.

“There will be how to videos and step by step guides - so whether you are a small business owner, haulier or EU citizen residing in the UK - the actions you need to take to prepare will be clear and simple.”

What is the advice for UK citizens?

The campaign is wide-reaching but fairly straightforward, with posters and adverts pointing citizens in the direction of a new “step-by-step” tool on the Gov.uk site that allows users to “identify what they need to do to get ready for Brexit quickly”.

The tool takes the form of a quiz with questions pertaining to citizenship, travel plans and current business ventures and plans, with users then given a curated checklist of things they need to do before Brexit, based on their answers.

The site suggests that little preparation should be required by British citizens who live in the UK, aside from checking whether their passports are valid and what mobile phone roaming charges apply when travelling in Europe.

People heading off overseas are also recommended to allow extra time for border checks at ports and airports, as UK citizens will “need some extra documents after Brexit”, such as an International Driving Permit (IDP) in order drive in some countries.

And the advice for EU citizens in the UK, and Brits living in Europe?

EU citizens living in the UK are “reminded to apply to the settlement scheme as soon as possible” if they want to remain in the country, while “European students are warned that their Erasmus+ placements at British universities may no longer be valid”, The Guardian reports.

The newspaper notes that although the new campaign “largely collates existing government advice”, its advice for UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU “is not detailed and does not spell out the seriousness of the consequences” of a no-deal Brexit.

A significant proportion of the advice on the site assumes that a deal will be struck between the UK and EU, with only brief mentions of the alternative scenario.

“If there’s a no-deal Brexit, your rights and how you access services may change,” the site says under the “Living in the EU” section. “Check the living in guide for your EU country for more information, including actions you need to take to secure your rights.”

What about business owners?

The Government says the key actions that firms need to take includes securing an Economic Operator Registration and Identification number to export goods to the EU. Although VAT registered businesses will automatically receive one, so-called micro businesses have to register themselves, according to the official guideance.

The campaign also advises firms to acquire the necessary documents to transport goods at the border, and to apply for the “vital support packages that are available, such as grants”.

Companies that handle the data of EU citizens may no longer be able to access it in the same way as a result of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules introduced in 2018.

“You may not be able to trade goods with the EU if you do not get your business ready,” the government website warns.

Where will the new adverts appear?

The new campaign will “include television and radio advertising, as well as billboards, which will be posted around the country”, says The Daily Telegraph.

PoliticsHome adds that the Government has “even ordered T-shirts and mugs emblazoned with the Get Ready message ahead of its launch”.

“Theresa May also ordered an advertising campaign in the run-up to the 29 March Brexit deadline, but it was far more low-key than what the Government is now planning,” the news site continues.

Benedict Pringle, author of the politicaladvertising.co.uk blog, told the BBC that the £100m budget is “roughly double what The National Lottery spends on advertising each year”.

“So if you think about how often you see a lottery advert and double it, that’s how much we could be seeing the campaign over the next two months,” he said.

“At football grounds, in advert breaks for Coronation Street and The Great British Bake Off, this is where you’ll get the biggest reach with the public.”